Tipping the Australian way

Nina Rousseau

Is 10 per cent the magic number to leave as a tip?

Tipping in Australia can be a confusing business. Do you tip at cafes or only restaurants? If so, how much? Is 10 per cent the magic number, or does that make you a “tight arse”?

And then what about "the shyster" who collects the tips from their mates, pays the exact bill amount on a card and pockets the change?

It happens, restaurant staff say.

Dining out ... Tipping can be confusing for the diner. Photo: Erin Slattery

Tipping protocol in Australia works on a loose set of principles, and diners are often baffled about how much to leave and when it's appropriate. Ask any hospitality worker and they'll say, “always, and at least 10 per cent”.

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But has Australia reached a point where tipping is now seen as compulsory?

According to Tara Moriarty, secretary of the liquor and hospitality division of the United Voice hospitality union, “there's no requirement to tip in Australia”.

“It's just a discretionary thing if people feel that they've had good service,” she says. “It's the easiest way for diners here to say thanks.”

Melbourne restaurateur Simon Denton says some people tip, some people don't and there are “swinging voters” too. If people ask – usually travellers – he'll say to leave 10 per cent but reckons in reality the overall percentage people leave is usually about 7 per cent.

“That was in good places,” says Denton, who has worked at restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, and now owns Japanese cafe Nama Nama and upstairs bar Hihou in Melbourne's CBD.

Moriarty says there isn't a fixed amount – if you've been looked after well, leave an amount you're comfortable with.

“People use 10 per cent as a bit of a guide, but I think that's just from watching TV and that's what they do in the [United] States,” she says.

The tipping culture here has been heavily influenced by the US, according to The Sydney Morning Herald's chief restaurant critic, Terry Durack.

“I lived in England for 10 years where it's just a straight 12.5 per cent – well, I say straight, but when you've had a couple of drinks it's hard to work out,” Durack says.

“In the States it's often 20 per cent or higher, and if you leave lower than that they'll abuse you.”

Unlike the US, where waiters earn a measly hourly wage, or only work for tips, Australian waiters earn a fixed amount ($15.96 an hour is the national minimum award wage) and tips are seen as a bonus, although many managers and waiters will factor tips into their wage before accepting a job, or determining payment.

On average, a full-time waiter in a Melbourne or Sydney restaurant can average about $250 to $500 in weekly tips, more for really top-end places, where staff can earn closer to $600 or $700.

“In Australia we usually leave 10 per cent, I think because it's so easy to work out, but it should be up to you, it should be a reward,” he says.

The public perception may be that the tipping culture is growing in Australia, but according to Tony Percuoco, from Ristorante Tartufo in Brisbane, the amount people contribute as a tip is decreasing.

“I've been in the industry for 40 years. Tips have definitely gone down,” says Percuoco, who reckons waiters aren't making anything like they used to 10 to 15 years ago.

Restaurant manager Belinda Seager agrees. She attributes this in part to the fact that restaurants have become more casual, removing the perception of “fine dining”.

“I think it's less of a culture now,” agrees Seager. “When I first started [at Longrain in Melbourne] I was clearing as much as my wage in tips, that's going back 10 years, and it's just gradually dropped.”

In most places credit card tips are usually transferred to the communal pot at the end of the night – usually. But Moriarty from United Voice stresses that diners should tip in cash.

“If we are tipping, we want to make sure it gets to the people we mean it for,” says Moriarty.

Shifty customers can also be the reason why staff don't receive tips. Kirsten Dickie, front of house at Cicciolina in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, says it's not unusual for customers to stiff their mates.

“The worst one is when six people go out for dinner, everyone's put in a tip, but one person collects the cash and pays by credit card and doesn't leave a tip, so they almost get their dinner for free,” she says.

“It might be like $50 worth of tips. They always come up to the bar to pay, so no one sees.”

Seager also cites examples of this underhanded strategy: “It happens a lot. I reckon I get it a couple of times a week.”

“A lot of the staff get quite upset when people don't tip,” says Seager, “especially if they've gone out of their way to make sure the table has had a lovely night and a great experience, and taught them something about the food and the wine.

"Then the customer walks out and says, 'Thanks very much, that was amazing,' and that's all you get.”

In most places credit card tips are usually transferred to the communal pot at the end of the night – usually – but recent reports have discovered that sometimes credit card tips can end up in the pockets of the owners, rather than those of the staff. The Liquor and Hospitality Union advises that diners should tip in cash.

Do you only tip in restaurants?

Simon Denton says that people tend to tip more in the evening and less so in cafes. Ultimately, it comes down to the service. That's what the tip is for, so if you have received good service in a cafe, the same principles apply.

Bad service? Should you still tip?

Not according to Tony Percuoco. "If you don't get good service, don't tip," he says. Sydney Morning Herald restaurant critic Terry Durack, agrees: "If you've had an awful time, I don't see why you should tip. It should be a reward."

Should big groups leave more than 10 per cent?

According to the Liquor and Hospitality Union's guide to tipping, "Tipping is discretionary, but if you have a large group you should probably pay a tip in recognition of the increased strain on staff."

Bad food, great service

"If you get average food but the waiter is trying his utmost, don't punish the waiter," says Percuoco. What you're tipping for is the service.

How do you approach tipping? Do you think it is expected in Australian restaurants? Jump on the comments and share your thoughts.

311 comments

Do we tip sales staff in shops for good service? Do we tip bus drivers? Do we tip flight attendants?Why tip restaurant wait staff and taxi drivers? I gave that up years ago, assuming that they earn more than I do anyway.

Commenter

badbarry

Location

Kyogle

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 3:20PM

I completely disagree with you, and I'd wager you've never worked in hospitality.

I used to work as a waiter and barman. I never expected a tip for simply opening a beer or delivering someone's food, but if I'd gone out of my way to be helpful, then yes, I'd very much expect a tip.

One time, the coffee machine was broken so I offered a table of customers to go and get coffees for them from over the road and bring them back. They weren't even thankful for it and I even heard them saying at the end of the meal "I don't think they deserve a tip." Well I didn't have to go over the road, but I did. Just to provide good service.

It's this kind of attitude that creates a bad service culture in this country. If there's no incentive to be helpful, why would you be? A thank you and a smile is sometimes incentive enough, but even that is hard to get sometimes. I've also worked in retail and in call centres, but I would say hospitality is THE worst for rude and disgusting customers. You say the pay is enough, but is it? Most hospitality workers are casual, they don't get sick leave, they are vulnerable to getting their shifts cut, being sent home early, spending long periods of time on forced unpaid breaks if it's not busy, and additionally, they have to be extremely nice to some of the most abhorrent people. I have been called everything under the sun, believe me, and I've had to take it gracefully and apologise for things that were not my fault.

Tipping is a sign that you've thought about the person serving you and you appreciate them. Denying someone that recognition is just cruel.

Commenter

Ex-Barman

Location

Sydney

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 5:14PM

I completely agree - anyone in the food service industry is presumably paid to do their job well - why are customers expected to reward them for this? It's not as if we're teaching puppies to sit or toilet training a two year old - I don't think rewards are necessarily warrented for a good standard of service, and I don't expect anything less than a good standard of service. And yes, I have worked as a waitress and on one memorable occasion received a tip of more than the cost of the meal.

Commenter

Another Lotus

Location

NSW

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 5:22PM

Ex-Barman , don't want to sound harsh here, and it was nice that you went over the road to get coffees, but my basic expectation would be to be able to get a coffee where i was dining, the fact you had to go over the road wouldn't be a consideration, its not my issue your coffee machine is broken. I certainly wouldn't tip (& i always tip except for bad service) just because you went across the road to get me a coffee that i should have been able to get from your establishment. I'd be tipping on your overall service as it pertained to the dining establishment, and be more than likely not to tip if i didn't get the coffee regardless of the state of your machine.

Commenter

Gem

Location

Sydney

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 5:42PM

My perspective is that the reward for service staff doing an excellent job is that they keep working and collecting their wage, the same as everyone else. It's up to the restaurant to pay staff and renumerate employees appropriately. If a restaurant has staff that are exactingly attentive and perform well above the average they'll earn repeat business, strong recommendations and as a result receive more customers or be able to charge more for meals. As the restaurant earns more money they can pay their staff more.

Fine dining establishements receive no tip. I expect nothing less than flawless service and the price I'm paying for a meal means that staff should be well paid anyway. Nobody pays me extra in my job because I am more effective, deliver with a smile or perform a few extra favours, that's simply personal professionalism in action. If my efforts have contributed to the bottom line of the business perhaps I'll receive a bonus if the company is doing well that year but I certainly don't expect customers to chip in extra to achieve that.

Commenter

Uncommon Sense

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 5:50PM

Agreed. Do we tip our farmers? What about the people picking the fruit and vegetables that go into the meals, they work for minimum wage (or less on contract) in much worse conditions. Do we tip our nurses who treat people in hospitals (usually for obesity/cardio related illness)?

What made waiters so special? This American custom is not our way. This is a wishfull thinking article by someone in the industry trying to get extra cash for their mates.(With that said I do like to leave a few coins in a jar for good service.

Commenter

Terrarocks

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 6:02PM

I totally totally agree... I work in the health industry and work very hard to take care of patients. If you need to go that little bit extra to make sure that a person is happy and well taken care of, then that is part of the job! Of course a thank-you is always greatly appreciated, like a card or chocolates, but I certainly wouldn't expect it.

I can't stand the food industry attitude that we are meant to pay extra for "service". I consider that the price is built into the menu, especially with how expensive eating out is these days!

I will tip if I had a really great experience, and I felt that it was good value.

Commenter

yolo

Location

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 7:51PM

@Gem. It's hard to know how to respond to your comment on Ex-Barman's excellent and well structured anecdote about the reality of working hard, going out of your way to ensure someone has a good quality experience but being treated rudely and without thanks. Regardless of doing it for a tip what Ex-Barman did here was a lovely thing for other human beings because he is a nice and thoughtful person yet you seem to think of it as a waste of time and empathise more with the rude customers than with him. This is a sad state of affairs and indicative of the poor quality of manners amongst diners.

Commenter

Sam

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 7:51PM

I think its totally up to the individual, but please do not compare us to the US where the minumum wage is $7.50 per hour gross without super or holiday / sick pay !I have owned sandwich bars, cafes and restaurants for the last 30 years in Melbourne and I wish I could get someone to work for me for the minumum wage of $16 per hour gross plus super / holiday & sick pay. I pay my staff in my staff $16 in the sandwich bar, $18 - $20 in the cafe and the waiterswill tell you to get stuffed for less than $22-$25 per hour and that my freinds is CLEAR / NET to them ! on top of that I have to pay their tax, super, holiday / sick pay and work cover so you can just add another $5 per hour .I have just returned from the US and I know of one waiter in New York who actually works for free and he makes $1500 per week cash because veryone leaves 15% - 20% tips.TIPPING SHOULD DEFINITELY NOT BE OBLIGATORY IN AUSTRALIA WITH OUR WAGES SYSTEM. If you want tips as per the US then you must get paid what they do as stated above. We want the good bits frim Australia and the good bits from the US. Our Labour costs in OZ are so high we cannot compete with any country, thus our manufacturing is steadily disappearing. The US has become the destination of choice for aussies but the americans told me they will not come to Australia because everything here is too expensive. We are living a disillusioned existence which is great until the minerals and energy exports keep paying for it

Commenter

OL

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 28, 2013, 8:34PM

Its offensive to think you have to pay extra for good service. It's a waiters job to provide good service. I think as a general principle the price on anything should be the full price. So if a meal is $50 then that should include the food and the service and on weekends if there is a surcharge then there should be a menu for weekends with the price inclusive of any surcharge If staff want tips add it to the menu price. This whole nonsense that is a reward for good service has to stop and there should be total transparancy in pricing.